Hi everyone,

I've got myself a Honda Accord 2007 2.0 I-VTEC (CL7), recently. It's a European market Honda, as I live in Eastern Europe.
I'm a total newbie as far as car audio is concerned, so I've come to you for advice.

First of all, my car's got two speakers in the front doors and two on the back panel, that is, I don't have any speakers in the rear doors.
I would like to replace all of the speakers and add two in the rear doors, as well as to add a subwoofer in the trunk.

1. Would two speakers in the rear doors be an overkill?

Since the car doesn't have a receiver with a USB or bluetooth interface, I would like to replace it (or add another below the current one). My primary source of music would be a USB stick (which I've previously filled with mp3/flac music on my PC). Bluetooth would come in handy for hands-free telephony.

If I understand correctly, door speakers' dimensions are 6,5" and back panel are 6"x9"?

I plan to play music for about half an hour per day on average if that means anything to you.

So, I was thinking of getting these:
Subwoofer: Pioneer TS-WX305B TS-WX305B | Pioneer
Receiver: Pioneer DEH-X8700BT DEH-X8700BT | Pioneer
Door Speakers: Pioneer TS-Q172C TS-Q172C | Pioneer or
Pioneer TS-E171CI (component) TS-E171CI | Pioneer
Back panel speakers: Pioneer TS-A6933I TS-A6933I | Pioneer

2. I read elsewhere on the forum that back panel speakers could be redundant if there is a sub in the trunk?

3. Would that be a good pick? My budget is about $600.
Most popular brands in my country are Pioneer, Alpine, Hertz, JBL, Magnat, and Kenwood.

4. Which amp should I get? Is a 2.1-channel enough, or do I have to get a 4.1? I was thinking that stereo + sub should do it.

5. What about tweeters if I don't get component speakers?

6. Would I need to upgrade my car battery?

7. What about licence plate, door or some other parts vibrating? Would I need some foam material to isolate the vibrations?


Thanks in advance!

 

sorry for the delay, i have been traveling lately.

1. speakers in the rear doors can be added but you won't see a huge improvement in sound quality adding more inexpensive speakers. a good sound system focuses the entire speaker budget into the front components only. 95% of sound quality competition cars have only front speakers. you can add more if you want, but it won't be to make it sound better, it will just be because you want to do it.

2. subs in the trunk will pressurize the trunk and distort rear deck speakers.

3. Hertz is the brand you should aspire to install. Kenwood and Alpine are 2nd and 3rd.

4. More channels allows for more control. If you want your fader to work (front vs rear levels) you want a 4 channel amp. if you don't want that control (left/right balance will work) you can go with a 2 channel amp. the amp will need to be 2 ohm stable to run 4 speakers or it will need to be 1 ohm stable if you run 6 speakers.

5. you definitely want front tweeters. lower door tweeters are aimed at your ankles aren't as audible and suffer attenuation.

6. at some point your battery will fail. when it comes time to upgrade, an AGM battery is preferred.

7. i use closed cell foam to isolate metal parts (most commonly the license plate and frame). closed cell foam weatherstripping is affordable and doesn't absorb water. place it anywhere to hard surfaces contact.

 

Hi KeepHopeAlive,

thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

OK, by me focusing on good front-door speakers and a sub, I should get good results? In that case, I would take a pass on rear-door and rear-deck speakers.

What do you think on this system?
Front: Hertz HSK165 HSK 165 - Hertz Hi-Energy car audio speakers system
Sub: Hertz EBX 300.5 EBX 300.5 - Hertz Energy car audio subwoofer box
Amp: Hertz HCP 2X HCP 2X - HertzAudioVideo car audio system
or perhaps this one should be enough? Hertz HCP 2 car audio amplifier

I could probably increase my budget to $700-800.

Thanks

 

My mistake, not HCP 2X, but HDP 4
HDP 4 - Hertz car audio amplifiers

 

I agree that the best way to start with a system is a set of front components, a sub, and a 4 channel amp. That allows future expansion and flexibility. Your new plan is good.

I really like the high energy speakers. Those two would be just as loud but sound much better than your previous option.

the quality of the installation will determine how good the speakers will sound. i take great care when installing door speakers, and my efforts can be seen in my build logs (links in sig).

 

OK, thanks.
What receiver do you suggest, considering the amp and the above speakers?
I was thinking of Kenwood KMM-BT302
To me, it's only important for it to have bluetooth for telephony and a USB port for mp3 and flac music. I don't need a CD player, navigation, big screens, touchscreens or such.

 

If you can get a Kenwood eXcelon model, it offers better sound performance.